Governor's passed-over pick for Texas A&M president resigns

COLLEGE STATION — A Texas A&M University executive who Gov. Rick Perry wanted promoted to school president quietly resigned after not getting the job, becoming the latest top campus official to step down in recent months.

Guy Diedrich left his $300,000-a-year post as vice chancellor for strategic initiatives in March, the Bryan-College Station Eagle reported Saturday. His departure comes after Perry lobbied regents in December to name Diedrich interim president at the 53,000-student flagship campus.

Perry's public endorsement rankled faculty who accused the governor of trying to impose his political will on his alma mater. Regents instead chose Mark Hussey, a longtime dean at Texas A&M who's highly respected in academic circles at the school.

Diedrich, who came from the private sector, thanked Perry in a resignation letter obtained by the newspaper.

"Your leadership has placed this institution on a new trajectory of excellence, and your support of me personally and the initiatives we took on together made my time at Texas A&M truly special," Diedrich wrote.

A&M officials say there are no plans to fill Diedrich's role. He's the latest in an exodus of Perry associates from top A&M jobs.

Terry Fossum, former A&M University System vice chancellor for global and corporate partnerships, abruptly retired in December. Fossum, a well-known Perry acquaintance, had worked for Texas A&M since 1987 but retired only a few months after her job that paid $370,000 annually was created. She announced her resignation less than a week after regents unanimously voted to name Hussey interim president.

And Joe Weber, Texas A&M's vice president of student affairs and a longtime friend of Perry, left this month to lead the Texas Department of Transportation.

Perry has appointed the entire A&M regent board but has long clashed with faculty members who have been wary of his influence on academic policy.

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